Do Sports and Relationships Mix? According to Dating Service It's Just Lunch, Survey Says...

Given that tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, now seems like an appropriate time to ask the following question: Do sports and relationships mix? I've never been a sports fan myself; nor have I ever dated any, so alas, I cannot answer this one on my own. Matchmaking service It's Just Lunch can, though, thanks to their latest survey. Are you ready to ruuuuuuumbllllllllllllllllle?...

...Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Anyhoo, It's Just Lunch surveyed over 1,400 singles between the ages of 18 and 64 to see how sports either do or don't affect most people's relationships. There's some good news and some bad news, depending on which side of the "YAY SPORTS!" fence you sit on, but generally, the consensus seems to be that sports fans match well with other sports fans. People who actually understand football, and baseball, and basketball, and so on tell me that sporting events make terrific dates if you go with the right person, so I suppose the results aren't too surprising.

Want some specifics? Here you go. First, let's start with the bad news:

Nearly one in five people reported that sports had negatively impacted a relationship at some point in their romantic lives. Sorry, sports fans. There's a bit a divide between age groups, though; perhaps unsurprisingly, the number rose to one in three for adults between the ages of 18 and 24, but dropped to one in 10 for people age 55 to 64.

The reasons cited for how sports negatively impacted the relationship varied by gender. Women didn't like the amount of time and money spent on sports; men admitted that poorly played games put them in bad moods, which in turn led to some fights with their partners. It's worth noting that we don't know what types of relationships we're talking about here — gay, straight, bi, other — but I suspect they're mostly heterosexual ones. Do with that what you will.

Now, the good news:

45 percent of both men and women said sporting events sounded like an awesome first date. Rah, rah! Go team! Wooooooo!

45 percent of men and women also said a Super Bowl party would be a good place to meet a date. Got plans for tomorrow? Bring your A game!

And now, the news that's neither good nor bad, but useful all the same:

41 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds would love it if their partners' idea of an awesome weekend matched up with theirs: That is, spending the entire day watching college or NFL football on TV for five months out of the year. It's only 16 percent for 45- to 54-year-olds, though.

59 percent of men and 43 percent of women said they'd like a partner who would watch or go to a game every so often. Again, though, there's an age divide; it's much more important for younger folk that their partners like sports than it is for older folks. 10 percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64 wanted a sports fan for a partner — but for people 25 to 34, the figure jumps to 25 percent. If you don't like sports? Well...

And gents. It's a deal breaker all round.

So there you have it. It's Just Lunch arranged their findings into a nifty infographic, so if you'd rather see it all laid out in a tidy little visual, head on over there to check it out. In the meantime, batter up, ten hut, shoot, score, or whatever. Happy almost-game day!